John Giles believes that Kevin De Bruyne would have a claim to be the world's best - if he could only imbue himself with the spirit of Roy Keane.
Giles joined Off The Ball to discuss Manchester City's 2-1 defeat of Real Madrid last night, where De Bruyne led the line in City's system.
"He did very well," Giles said of De Bruyne's performance in his position as an auxiliary striker.
"I criticise De Bruyne; he is very talented individual, but what I criticise him for is his attitude.
"If he gives the ball to one of his team-mates and they miscontrol it, he sulks.
"He is a gifted lad for the goal and the penalty, but he should be better than he is.
"If he was a real worker and a team player, doing his all for the team, he could be one of the greats."
Kevin De Bruyne
Giles was at pains to say that his criticism of De Bruyne was by no means saying he was not an excellent player, but rather that it was frustrating to see him fall short of his potential.
"He did his stuff last night, but why don't you do it every week?
"What happened last night, with the position that people were getting the ball to him.
"I don't agree with that with De Bruyne; he has got the talent to stay in the middle of the field and dictate everything. I think he has the talent to do that but not so sure about his mindset.
"If you want to get the best out of De Bruyne, maybe [Guardiola] should play him there every week."
Giles believes that he needs to look only across the city to Manchester United, where one of the club's legends could elevate his game to another level.
"He can be brilliant, absolutely brilliant. He is a very gifted player.
"I would like to see him with the Roy Keane attitude.
"Attitude was 80-90% of Roy Keane's game. He wasn't as gifted as De Bruyne.
"I don't want to criticise De Bruyne for what he did, but if you put that attitude into De Bruyne he would be the best player in the world."
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